Lindsey Vonn has spoken out after her serious fall. © ANSA / TIL BUERGY / STF

Vonn knows no regrets: "A victory in itself"

Late Monday evening, Lindsey Vonn spoke out for the first time since her serious crash in the Olympic downhill race in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

February 10, 2026

From: dpa/sn

"Yesterday my Olympic dream didn't end the way I had imagined. It wasn't a fairytale ending, but simply life," the 41-year-old wrote on Instagram. She suffered a complicated tibia fracture, which is stable but will require several surgeries. The torn ACL was unrelated to the fall; she had taken too tight a line, the American wrote.

Despite the intense pain, she has no regrets. "Standing at the starting line yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Just being there, knowing I had a chance of winning, was a victory in itself. I knew it was a risk. It was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport."

"I tried. I dreamed. I jumped." Lindsey Vonn

Life involves taking risks; sometimes your heart gets broken, sometimes dreams don't come true. "I tried. I dreamed. I took a leap," she wrote, adding this message to the readers of her post: "If you take anything from my story, let it be this: Have the courage to dare to do great things."

Vonn's father: "End of her career"

Vonn's father also spoke out in the afternoon. He spent the night with her in the hospital in Treviso. He stated that it was clear Lindsey should end her career for good after the horrific fall. "She's 41 years old, and this is the end of her career," Alan Kildow told the news agency. AP"As long as I have any say in the matter, Lindsey Vonn will no longer compete in ski races."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LINDSEY • VONN (@lindseyvonn)

Vonn had originally planned for the Olympics to be her farewell. However, during the season she stated that she would likely finish it if she still had a chance at a crystal globe. She is currently leading in the downhill and third in the Super-G.

Alan Kildow hugs his daughter Lindsey Vonn. © ANSA / VALDRIN XHEMAJ / STF

“She is a very strong personality,” Kildow said of his daughter. “She knows physical pain and understands her situation. And she’s coping well with it.” The four-time overall World Cup winner and 2010 Olympic champion is “really very, very strong,” Kildow added. She’s handling it well. Vonn’s family witnessed the crash live from the spectator area.

Coach Svindal: "Lindsey, you are incredibly brave"

Vonn's coach, Aksel Lund Svindal, posted on Instagram: "Lindsey, you are incredibly brave. You inspire the people who follow your journey and us who work closely with you every day," the Norwegian wrote. "Yesterday was a tough day on the mountain. For everyone, but especially for you." According to Svindal, Vonn even managed to send her congratulations to her teammate Breezy Johnson, the eventual Olympic champion, before she herself was airlifted to the hospital. "True character is revealed in the most difficult moments," Svindal added.